Chord Mojo 2 Transportable Headphone DAC/Amp Review - Baby Got DAC

[@gerritfridericksohn4627]

I have the Mojo2 and the Questyle 15. I was very surprised when the Mojo 2 outperformed the Questyle in every respect. Most notably in timbre and resolving power. Different price points. That's with Edition XS and assorted lower priced earphones. I really like the Mojo2. I have lived with 2A3 monoblocks and coaxial speakers for decades. It might seem strange, but in some ways it is the same type of sounds. Speaks to my preferred colorations. Rock On, Jack Herer.

[@utube321piotr]

Been using Mojo2 in my home based 2ch stereo. Mojo2 outperforms the Internal Hegel H95 DAC, which was a surprise to my ear. On top of that a 2nd hand Atoll AM100 power amp also outperformed the Hegel in terms of the soundstage and acoustic amplification. In all, Mojo2 and Atoll power amp are both keepers for me and Hegel is up for sale. Interviews with Chord DAC designer Rob Watts reinforced my choice. So far I see no need to upgrade the Mojo2DAC.

[@GilmarZevallos]

I'm using it too in my stereo system. Great sound. At what color did you set the volume balls?

[@utube321piotr]

@@GilmarZevallos That changes depending on the time of day since my tablet is a stepped relative volume control, while Mojo2 controls volume globally.

[@ardhern1392]

Using it either stand-alone or paired up at my desktop with a Jotunheim 2 as my main amp. Fantastic. Worth the price for being so feature rich.

[@malihajji2870]

I put my all trust in your reviews Sir. Keep up the good work.

[@andreasschwarz4908]

Have had the mojo 2 for a couple of months. completely agree with the neutrality part, it's not as aggressive as other chord products like TT2. it's completely fine in terms of portability, i use it in the subway. fits in pockets, heck, i even held it in my hand for a long period of time b/c my cable was defective. scales with better usb c cables too. the only thing i wish was different is the color menu and a 1/4 inch (or balanced for people who need it).

[@pistopit7142]

Hi. What usbc cable would you reccomend for mojo 2? Thanks.

[@andreasschwarz4908]

@@pistopit7142 ADL GT 2 C2 NCF (usb c to c). it might be unavailable though, in that case i'd go for the black and white colored dd hifi usb c. it's better than the 15€ fiio cable. i dont remember the model, it's probably the TC09S by the looks of it, cost like 40ish. i was able to compare both directly and have some higher tier HPs so that's why i went with the more expensive one.

[@LSDScreen]

One thing to be aware of is that it is rumored Chord will refresh their various lines soon. I think at $650 the Mojo 2 is a great deal, but I'd hold off on the Hugo 2, for instance. That said, if/when they come out with a Hugo 3, it will be day one purchase for me.

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

good idea

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

tt2 is very impressive though

[@Angel-AbC9]

I have the bitfrost 2/64 and my comparison, the mojo 2 has more weight to the music overall where the bitfrost is clean , sharp and somewhat lean , so the mojo is great with some genres over my bitfrost.

[@Angel-AbC9]

@jkteddy77 weight means the same as full body , thickness and lean isn't bad example male voice would sound good but on mojo 2 it has more body to it , more realistic .

[@Angel-AbC9]

@jkteddy77 when I compare the mojo 2 and my bitfrost 2/64 , the bitfrost wins just because the over sampling and none over sampling choice it has , some music it's to sharp a tad lean with with some femal vocals and the treble is certainly there , now of course it depends on the headphones also , I have zmf verite close and arya stealth . Using mojo I really like the warm fullness it brings , but everything else bitfrost beats it . I will add if mojo 2 had more power and had a balance headphone connection it would smack bitfrost easily.

[@Angel-AbC9]

@jkteddy77 no I'm talking mojo 2 had that for a year now and love it since it's portable to take with me and use my phone when needed. I just traded my arya stealth back to hifiman to get the He1000se for 1000 , that was a deal I couldn't refuse . When it comes , if it strongly out perform my zmf verite close , then I will sale it , I could get still good sale price on zmf . But if it's close then will keep and have a great 1-2 punch headphones

[@priedits]

Would you say hifiman serenade is a noticable upgrade over mojo 2? I'm using he1000 stealth. Thinking of serenade or Aune s17 Pro keeping mojo 2 as DAC.

[@brokenarrow9611]

Long awaited review👍I like the mojo 2 for its timbre and soft nature but still very detailed, its timbre is a bit like an R2R dac than D/S, it does lacks in resolution and soundstage / separation /depth vs my Spring 3, but still an excellant buy for the price I paid around $500 new.

[@LSDScreen]

I have the Spring 3 and the Mojo 2 as well and love both. Comparing them isn't really fair.

[@Peace_Guard]

How much performance/satisfaction %-wise you get from Mojo 2 vs Spring 3? Just based on SQ.

[@LSDScreen]

@@Peace_Guard I'd say about 75%. But the Mojo 2 has its own fun factor.

[@datdudeinred]

Micro usb is unacceptable to me. I get it they had that poly thing to support but they easily could have added extra type c for charging too.

[@lowrider007007]

No reviewer ever mentions one of the best features of this DAC, the dual lineouts (which Chord have confirmed you can use as dual lineout), so handy in desktop mode where you might for example have one lineout going to a headphone amp, and the other lineout going to a stereo amp with speakers, or maybe two headphone amps, maybe one solid state and a tube amp, I'm currently using a Qutest and would love dual lineout, I'm a bit hesitant on using RCA splitters. you think that would be safe?

[@petrpulpytel]

Yes, you are absolutelly safe with the rca splitters, its the same as dual output from mojo.. the splitter is made inside the mojo..

[@lowrider007007]

Interesting, I didn't know that regarding the Mojo, thanks.@@petrpulpytel

[@psysword]

Spot on. My set up exactly feeding two preamps with two seperate inputs. Real handy and killer sound.

[@VanDungLe2510]

How do you set the Mojo 2 into lineout modes? Bump the volume to 100/100?

[@lowrider007007]

@@VanDungLe2510 Here is the instructions Chord gave me, "Dear Sir, thanks for your email, Yes you can, this will work fine. Attached is the information for setting a 3v level equivalent to the original Mojo line out. All the best" "To attain a 3v output, the customer needs to start with their Mojo2 as pictured below. The picture shows the Moho 2 with the menu lit up white and the volume buttons both unlit, to achieve this turn up the volume until the menu button lights up white. This is the first setting of the ‘upper’ volume range. This is identified by a illuminated mode light on the left, but the volume + and - lights are extinguished. Now you will need to press the volume + button EXACTLY 41 times. The result is showing in the second picture, two VIOLET volume buttons." To help Google the following 'Mojo 2 voltage chart' edit - I wanted to add that you may find 3v a little hot, a lot of people use 2v.

[@mnmlist1454]

Thanks for the review. I hope you can compare the Mojo 2 & Geshelli J2S to the PecanPi Plus.

[@zenboy2000]

Drove a Arya Stealth off of the Mojo 2 and it sounds pretty good and full.

[@RadoDani]

Crossfeed is very important fór esrly 50’s and 60’s stereo recordings. I wonder of theres a DAP that can do it.

[@Jim90wa]

Thank you Sir. I own the Mojo2/Poly and am very pleased especially using Roon. I can take it out on the deck plug it in to a portable speaker and get a very much upgraded sound over the built it bluetooth. I travel a lot so the sd card and my U12ts light me up! thanks Again.

[@johnenglishIII]

I have a Modi Multibit 2 + Nitsch Piety for headphones. I'm not in love with the sound of the combo. Do you think this could be a worthy upgrade? The hype on this one is huge but I normally trust your judgement more than other reviewers.

[@laszlokiss3578]

Hi, Cayin RU7 has great synergy with the Piety IMHO :)

[@flash4973]

i have mojo 2 and it is great, musical, not fatiguing, good soundstage and plenty of details, try to find one on the used market. i got mine for 350 and it's still under warranty for a year.

[@JESUSISCALLINGYOU7]

I would call it a pleasant sidegrade, not a major upgrade. It's small distinctions that are big deals in terms of significance, but not in differences one can hear clearly. Except the dark background and cleanliness of sound, they are not immediately apparent upon first listen. You need to acclimate to the sound to be able to understand how the Rob Watts FPGA code works differently from other DACs, even something as special as the True Multibit from Schiit. It's no hype. It's as good as people say it is and as good as it should be with all the technology behind it. Now, how much that would matter to your actual enjoyment? I have the Modi Multibit 2/ Magni Piety combo and also the Mojo 2. It's cleaner and a bit more detailed in some tracks, but that cleanliness makes it sound unexciting sometimes. The headphone outputs have enough pep to properly drive even my 600 ohm DT 880, but it's not gonna make the headphones sound as powerful or as big as the Schiit stack, which I love because it's exciting and doesn't sound worse than the Chord. Because the Modi Multibit 2's signal is accurate, it really lets the Magni Piety do its thing, which is very different and pleasant from other amps. The Mojo 2 is technically better as a DAC in terms of distortion figures and other areas, but are you gonna be able to hear that betterness? If you do hear it, will you appreciate it? Is it gonna be worth the money spent to you? Those are the questions. To me, the Mojo 2 is different enough and versatile to own alongside my other audio equipment. I paid the full $775 a couple months ago, not the $650 special price, but I have no regrets. EDIT: However, if you asked me if I would cry if I sold the Mojo 2 tomorrow, I'd say I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I appreciate what it does differently and sometimes better, but personally, it doesn't add to my enjoyment. The Mojo 2 only caters to my ego that I own such an amazing piece of technology. Honestly. I find the Schiit Stack much more involving and enjoyable to listen to. It's so much audio quality for such a small price in contrast to pricier equipment, and the quality is as good even with the budget constraints. The Mojo 2 is a piece of audio luxury. No one needs that clean of a sound, ha-ha. This is more of a privilege purchase in my opinion. I'm fortunate to be able to afford it, and I appreciate it, but it's excessive. It's better than our own ears by a lot, and just because Rob Watts can hear the tiniest distortion and it upsets him to the point of keeping making it tinier and tinier doesn't mean we can hear it or that it would be a deal breaker to us. The guy's brain is too fine-tuned above most people.😅

[@WoodstockG54]

Excellent review.

[@joseluishernandezseptien]

Great Review! I had been waiting for your review of Mojo 2 for a long time! Thank you! Just wanted to share my experience that I did notice that the Mojo 2 has a smarter desktop mode than Hugo 2. If you unplug Mojo 2 by mistake, it might take an hour or less to go back to the desktop mode, while with the Hugo 2, I had to wait a full day for it to recognize desktop mode again. Also, it seems that both units perform better when running on batteries than when using desktop mode, the sound was cleaner and livelier than when using a power supply and having them working around their desktop mode feature.

[@Pagaugezero]

Yes. Rob Watts said that the Mojo 1 and the Mojo 2 run better and sound better on battery though with the Mojo 2 he wanted to make the difference less noticeable.

[@brokenarrow9611]

Lots of rave reviews coming in for the new Mjolnir 3, apparently it is a very good pairing with the Susvara, kind of insane for the price ($1199), any chance you can get hold of one for a review.

[@newkid7]

Love the sound of it, but I don't know how to put it in my pocket, cables sticking out on both sides, it should be treated as desktop device.

[@arangD]

poly

[@newkid7]

too big and heavy @@arangD

[@wavetheorysound]

I mostly agree. It's not a true OTG solution, though some users may find ways to shoe horn it into that in ways they are comfortable with. I don't think that will work for everyone. However, it travels easy enough that it's fine to use at the end point of a trip. I can picture using it while working at a picnic table in your local park on a nice day, as one example. So I don't fully agree that it's a desktop-only device in the way that a Denafrips or Schiit DAC is. But it's also important to remember that the Mojo 2 is TRANSportsble and not really a great portable unit.

[@NeoGaming666]

The way I use mojo 2 is, I have attached velcro strips on the leatherr case and attach it to a tempotec V6 as my source. Both are thick units but not tall. They do fit in your jeans' pocket. Or the right(expensive) way is going for poly.

[@guystpierrecomposer]

The eq is a BIG feature. You can adjust the sound for poor recording ( too bright, lack of bass etc.) Find you Arya a bit too bright on pop music? No problem! I use it also as a very good "loudness" for low listening level with speakers. Very transparent eq, no distortion. Bitfrost or denafrips doesn't have this feature.

[@amadismusic_SWORDFISH]

tried that with the very easy to drive focal celestee, bass was undynamic, untextured, and weak. The rest of the frequency was "ok". mooved to aune x1GT (280 euros desktop dac/amp unit) and all that was lacking in bass was there, plus a bigger soundstage. all that for half the price

[@onepieceatatime]

Thanks for this very informative review. For both DAC sound quality as well as headphone performance on a desktop, would you rate the Mojo2 higher than a Schiit Modi MultiBit / Magni combo? Especially interested in which DAC you think is better.

[@wavetheorysound]

Yes, Mojo 2 is technically superior to MMB2. But, they do have presentational differences that will align with preferences differently.

[@terryss95]

Hello there Wave, sorry for the question unrelated to the Mojo2 but i've seen recently your RS6 video as was on the hunt for a good DAP. Have you had the chance to try out also the lower-end R6 III, or the newer R6 Pro II? The prices for these 2 are kinda tempting, moreso for the R6 III but not sure whether you've heard it and consider this one to be basically on a phone + dongle degree of quality, while the R6 Pro II to be good but be too far in terms of quality to justify the savings over what's the price for an used RS6. Would've been very interested on your opinion on these, or even looking forward to know if there was some other DAP that recently stole your interest over these Hiby not-so-insane flagship (RS8) DAPs. Thank you.

[@anatol1204]

I would like more capable eq and type c ( finally )

[@DonnieDarko95]

what amp can I add to the mojo2 with 4.4 to run zmf things such as atrium, caldera and diana mr, in addition to iems?

[@Pagaugezero]

That’s exactly how the Mojo 1 was described compared to the Hugo 2. So me having the Mojo 1 and not caring about EQ and the new desktop mode I was wondering if it’s worth the upgrade on sound quality alone.

[@Djehuti-85]

Thx for the review. Got me a Mojo 2 for 470 € ( = 515 $) yesterday as my 1st seperate DAC for desktop use, hopefully it will be a noticable upgrade from Wiim pro+. Not ready to pay 1k or more for R2R or other premium DACs yet but I prefer a big soundstage and not sure if any "cheaper" delta-sigma can offer that.

[@flash4973]

you made the good choice imo, i really wanted a better soundstage too coming from delta sigma and boy was i served, it's been 2 weeks since i received mibne and it's great for the price, i paid 350 for mine and i genuinely don't think you can get better than the mojo 2 under 1K, very musical and not fatiguing, no glare, no harshness, but it needs a little warm up time like 20 minutes to sound the best.

[@Djehuti-85]

@@flash4973 thx for sharing, sounds great! I will keep the warm up time in mind, already excited. Since my room acoustic isnt optimal that laid back non fatiguing is what I looked for.

[@markaprill6501]

It’s made out of aircraft grade aluminum. It has the best possible build quality and is made in Kent England. I do own this. The problem is micro usb which they are using maintain compatibility with the poly adapter. USB micro always ends up failing on me eventually and I see this charging micro input failing in the future causing this device to become useless.

[@flash4973]

i just bought a mojo 2, compared to my previous dac it is and amazing piece of equipement, i would like to compare it to a denafrips R2R dac though to ear what are the diffrences.

[@Angel-AbC9]

I have the mojo 2 , and it beats alot of dac/amps above its price range . Before buying I watched top reviewers on u tube and passion for sound as one of them , and read online reviews , this punches way above and smashes its price class , that being said being honest this is not one of your better reviews . The connections , you didn't mention about it being connected to a tablet or a moble phone especially on moble because that makes it very convenient and it sounds really good on a phone where people have there music apps there , so no Dap needed.

[@ayushbhaumik7980]

Hi, can you tell me some of those dac/amps you own that got beat by the mojo 2? I am a mojo 1 owner and am wondering what should be my next upgrade.

[@Angel-AbC9]

@ayushbhaumik7980 hi , just watch these 3 reviews and fast forward to the sound part where they talk comparison . Passion for sound. iiwi reviews . British audio.

[@Macpro2099]

Great review. What about android (Tidal, local, etc.) in a smartphone as a sourse connected via USB C?, in terms of portable combo devices (instead of DAPs) such as with FiiO Q11 or Topping G5 or other dac-amps with simiilar features and form factor.

[@danielsamson9505]

👌👍

[@gustavobandres]

Please a program talking about all the ways to set up and use Poly with Mojo 2. Thanks 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@muhamadsyazwan5170]

could mojo 2 drive he1000se?

[@ghas4151]

Yes. That is my current setup and it sounds fantastic.

[@arangD]

i have also these two and love , hugo2 not suitable for portable but mojo2 + poly ^^b

[@Angel-AbC9]

Why are you comparing mojo 2 to daps ? Mojo is not a dap just because it's small in size , it need to be compare to desk top dac/amp , not daps lol Rob watts would agree with me 100%

[@wavetheorysound]

Yes and no. It's a unique piece in that it comfortably overlaps with the desktop/2-ch use case AND the transportable use case. That's why I thought it wise to comment on how it fits into both markets. I will have a more thorough mid-fi desktop dac roundup soon where I will to into more detail on where Mojo 2 falls into that market.

[@chrisbianchi8876]

Agree. I would have rather heard comparisons to other portable or desktop dac amps. Don't quite understand the comparison to daps

[@Angel-AbC9]

@@chrisbianchi8876 Yes , before I bought my mojo 2 I watched many videos about it and each you tuber compared it with other dac/amp desk top and said it was better than topping D90 ..this review seems to me that he thought it fits in the dap category and he would be alone in that thought since all videos about mojo 2 never compared it to a freaking dap .lol

[@arthurkillen396]

I got a Mojo2 to use as a DAP, so this review made sense to me. It's almost the exact same size as the Hiby R3 II, and those two stacked and connected via USB or spdif are still smaller than my R6 Pro II dap. That combo is a killer portable solution in my opinion, and it gets you a quasi Chord DAP with Qobuz, Tidal, Airplay, DLNA, Bluetooth and SD card playback for a total of $850.

[@Angel-AbC9]

@arthurkillen396 nope no sense , the mojo is no dap period , the unique thing about the mojo is the compact size and that it rivals dac amp at its price class , there are about 10 good reviews on you tube and none compare it to a dap , and when I saw one just mentioned his higher price dap he said mojo was much better but there after mentioned dac desktop ..

[@disastrousemouse]

Lack of a line out makes this much more limited than it needs to be.

[@wavetheorysound]

With Chord's designs it's perfectly safe to use the headphone output as pre-out with a y-cable

[@Maver1ck911]

Get a 3.5mm to RCA and then decide what colors you want to set it to for voltage equivalent. You can set 0dB (gain) or go for 2V (high gain "indigo" both balls same color for 2.12vrms)or half volt or max it at 5.3v (0dB is the first max white ball. 2 more taps odB max white gets +13 based on chords info)

[@flash4973]

nope, it works perfectly fine as a dac alone and it has been designed to suit every amp, you can ajust the output voltage wich is great for tube amps for exemple.

[@TheColorization]

⁠@@Maver1ck911can you further explain it? I got confused😅, what color to get 4 vrms?

[@Peace_Guard]

@@Maver1ck911 Would there be any benefit to using 3,5mm to 2x XLR instead of to 2x RCA? (thinking in the context of outputting it into Bliss in the future)

[@LucianPSimracing]

First! 😀 Now back to watching the review!

[@Michael_mki233]

Well, that's the last of the "cheap" Chord DACs. Time for you to source a TT2!

[@anupambphoto]

What about to the D1se

[@sauhamm3821]

good dac/amp. not worth the price unless you already have the money. if you’re justifying your purchase sure, but nothing about chord products make them genuinely worth the overhead. TLDR don’t stretch for chord products assuming they’re “better” they’re different and excellent, but not better.

[@flash4973]

in my experience chord mojo 2 has been way better than any other dac i have owned under 1K so i do not agree with you.

[@sauhamm3821]

you're allowed to disagree. I have a mojo 2 and about 10 other portables under $1000 I reach for my cm2 as often as my hipdac or qudelix or ru7. they're all fun but I wouldn't put any one on a higher shelf than the others. we all have valued and individual opinions, thank you for yours! cheers! ​@@flash4973

[@Mr1stcat]

I tend to avoid companies like chord who offer expensive add ons to "enhance" their products imo the ifi gryphon is far superior to this outdated confusing expensive junk

[@bern_channel]

you are biased. Just try it and its sound might be more "musical" for you than one of ifi (I have ifi diablo and mojo 2 and it is really hard to say which one is better, just different ways to present music)

[@Cestmoi50]

I owned both, design and feature wise I loved the Xdsd gryphon, music wise the Mojo2 is the better of the two, annoying I wished a xdsd gryphon with the sound of mojo2, but that does not exist.

[@luigismilazzo]

Have you an idea of the amount of lies you say to yourself?

[@davidallanmusic]

What exactly is the lie?

[@VirusForPrez]

Only lie i told was when i told my wife i paid 99$ for my Mojo 2 .

[@luigismilazzo]

@@davidallanmusic that 3 volt from a 20 volt capable devices are different from 3 volt from a less powerful device. that dacs decide the soundstage. that there are important deviation from an amp to another...

[@davidallanmusic]

Which DAC's have you tried with your headphones?@@luigismilazzo

[@luigismilazzo]

@@davidallanmusic from topping d10 to adi-2, then denafrips ares 2, grace design, khadas, geshelli, a loto of ifi and the mojo 2 itself. apart from some minuscule deviations, I can't really talk of soundstage or tonal changes.yes, the low cost, good measuring stuff sound very glary and cheap but this is the real difference. a big defect that destroy everything. some Fiio are dark (btr7) some ifi are really gummy in the bass and brittle and unrefined or noisy (hip dac and gobble), but the serious stuff (gryphon, diablo, mojo, well designed desktop product over 500 euro and even the cheap khadas) sound basically the same